The Knicks Future Rotation Issues?

The Knicks are sitting pretty right now at 13-4 and have a 1.5 game lead on the Heat in the East. Mike Woodson is now 33-10 as the Knicks head coach and the Knicks have been playing great basketball thus far. Aside from two absent minded performances in the lonestar state, the Knicks have been very convincing and firmly announced they're back and ready to contend. Last night, we saw the Knicks beat the reigning defending champion Heat by 20 in Miami, on national TV. Many Heat fans are quick to say that the heat don't care about the regular season and things like that, but the Heat definitely took last nights loss hard. LeBron even spoke about the Heat's need to play better and work on a lot of things. But what does last night's win mean for the Melo-Amare-Shumpertless Knicks? It means that they have the deepest team in the NBA and finally have a coach who understands how to make his players play for each other, on both sides of the ball. One of the key players that New York will have to rely on going forward is Raymond Felton.

After a disastrous year in Portland last year, Ray finally looks like his old self and is playing like the lottery pick he once was. He is shooting the lights out of gym and distributing the rock at a great rate. In order for the Knicks to be successful, Felton will have to facilitate the offense. This will be an even greater task once Amar'e is back. If Felton can do this effectively, then the ceiling becomes a lot higher for the Knicks. It is clear that there may be some rotational issues once Amar'e comes back, and it is imperative that the Knicks do not lose their chemistry and swagger once this happens. Many people are saying that once Amar'e returns he should come off the bench and play limited minutes; however, these people are wrong. Amar'e is still an elite talent in this league and worked tirelessly this past off-season adding a new post game to his offensive arsenal. The Knicks are loaded with age, as I'm sure everyone is aware, and Amar'e will come into the season at a pivotal time where some of the older players may need a break. His fresh legs (as fresh as they can be with all the knee problems he has had) will provide a great spark. Another player coming off an injury is shut down defender Iman Shumpert. His return may also bring with it less minutes for Ronnie Brewer and James White, but in the post season the Knicks will need his tenacious defense. New York will have to face either Brooklyn, Miami, or Boston in the playoffs at some point and Shumpert will be given the arduous task of defending each of those teams stars. He proved last year that he can do this and he promises to come off his ACL surgery even stronger. 

The Knicks look to be the only real threat to the Heat in the East, and this is only because New York seems to know how to beat Miami. Their recipe for winning the East is shooting as many three pointers as possible and hoping Chandler can clean up the boards and give the Knicks plenty of second chances. JR Smith's maturation along with Novak finally heating up are great signs for all Knicks fans. The one area of concern for the Knicks is undoubtedly their age, but Woody has been doing a great job monitoring player minutes (especially of the older players) and I am positive that the Knicks age will only help them as the season progresses. Amar'e prematurely declared 3 years ago, "The Knicks are Back", and he finally could be right. Let's hope!